Recommendation for a begginer heli

[guygln12]

Hello,
I'm flying for some time the Honey bee fp and cp2 and besides the frustration of their cheap quality i feel that i want to move to a real heli.

My budget is 500$-550$ without a radio system (I'm getting a Futaba 6exh soon). my internal conflict is between a larger heli like the Hurricane 550 (which suppose to be easier for learning, right?) or to stay in the mini category and then i saw a good deal for the Dragonusii (the regular version with 401 gyro and Hi-tec servos).

My questions are - do u recommend a larger heli like the Hurricane (which is pricier), and if there are other alternatives, or to stay at the mini category and to go for the Dragonus or other mini heli?
Which one will help me learn quicker?

Thx
Guy

[Coolice]

Hey,

Having both the Century Swift & a Dragonus I'd say both a good machines, but for a better flying machine you just can beat the larger models. The minis are great to throw around, I do this with my Dragonus and take real risks with it as it's cheap to repair but the Swift on the other hand is so much more graceful and nicer flying due to it's larger size.

I'm not entirely sure what spares prices are like for the Hurricane but I can comment of the Swift which is keenly priced for it's size and relatively cheap to run.
Another thing which has just popped into my head does the Hurricane require 6s LiPo minimum to fly? If this is the case it will make for a more expensive machine to buy initially.
The Swift for instance will fly very well and 3D on 4s or above, meaning battery costs will be lower, this in turn will allow you to buy more than one pack which will be a big help in your learning curve.
At the end of the day the only drawback to electrics is having to recharge, which on avergae takes 1 hour for each pack you have.

This is just my thoughts on the size issue and their are many other very capable machines on the market, but obviously I can comment best on what I fly.
But the little Swift is a model certainly worth bearing in mind for your next machine.
.

[guygln12]

Hi,
Thx for the answer. can u recommend me a good Swift specification - Motor,esc,gyro etc (the budget is 500$-550$ including s/h)
and one more thing - is there any good internet shop to buy it from (that does an international shipping)

[Coolice]

Hey,

No worries your welcome. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, have been away for a bit.

As for a good Swift setup, at the moment motor wise you cant go wrong with fitting Centurys 550+ for a cheaper 4s setup.
If though in time you think you may go to 6s LiPo power then follow the route of fitting Centurys 600+ motor, combined with an 80amp ESC and you can run 4s thru to 6s just altering the pinion gear to suit.

I cant be truly certain but I am reasonably confident you can get the wift setup to suit you for the money you have mentioned, assuming you shop around for the best prices.
As to recommending places to buy from I wouldn't know were to send you really, the UK can do international shipping ok but you may find deals elsewhere just as good or better.
If I come across anywhere offering a good deal I will post the link for you.
.

[kgfly]

I saw some Dragonus in person today for the first time. Very impressive. Light, smooth, very quiet and it turns out, very tough/crashworthy, even the basic model with the all plastic head/tail.

BTW, IMO you would be nuts to buy a 6EXH. It's a poor heli radio and since you can get a Spektrum DX7 for only $50 more why wouldn't you go for the far, far superior solution ? You might find this interesting:

FASST 6EXH vs Spektrum DX6
As a technology FASST is comparable to Spektrum's DSM/DSM2. They do things slightly differently but both work well. Which works better, if either, will only become really apparent when there are more in use. Certainly there are thousands of Spektrum surface and air radios in use over the past couple of years with overwhelmingly positive results. Futaba FASST surface radios have also been around for a while and successful but their air solution is brand new and there is not yet a lot of field experience, although I expect it to be good.

The ModelMatch feature of the DX7 (and the new JR X9303 and 12X 2.4G) is extremely popular and a good safety feature that is widely acclaimed. Futaba's FASST does not have a comparable feature.

Futaba's only integrated 2.4G radio (so far) is the 6EX which is a very low end radio, not recommended for a heli really. IMO the Spektrum DX6 is superior as it has a better feature set including digital sub-trims, a dedicated throttle-hold pitch curve and more model memories. The rest of Futaba's announced FASST offering is a set of Tx-modules for their modular Tx (9c/9z/12mz/14mz/12FG). There have been some rumours about an integrated 2.4G version of the 7c on the way but I don't know if that is true or not. All the 6ex/7c/9c/9z family have been shown to have much poorer CCPM performance than most of their competitors, although this has not affected their popularity much. You can see the test results summarised (and updated) in the first post here: http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/t172571p1

In terms of direct comparison, the DX7 is far superior to the 6EX in lots of ways. Better features, better screen/UI, better performance by far, longer runtime. No comparison. Here is a partial summary:

Note this is not comprehensive but simply indicative of some of the major differences. The DX7 has many, many more features than either of the others and is included just for reference for those features mentioned.

Comparison of the new Futaba 6EX 2.4GHz spread spectrum radio to the Spektrum DX6 and DX7

Feature 6EX DX6 DX7
==================== ============== ============== ====================
Radio usage Full range Park Flyer Full range
Channels 6 6 7
Model memories 6 10 20
Model types plane/heli plane/heli plane/heli
-------------------- -------------- -------------- --------------------
Digital sub-trim No Yes Yes
Expo Ail/Ele/Rud Ail/Ele Ail/Ele/Rud/Swash
Heli p/t curves 5pt 3pt 5pt
P-mixes 2 3 6 (2 with linked trim)
Heli flight modes 2 + Hold 2 + Hold 3 + Hold
-------------------- -------------- -------------- --------------------
Aileron->Rudder mix No Yes Yes
Aileron differential No Yes Yes
-------------------- -------------- -------------- --------------------
Timers
- Runtime per model No No Yes
- prgrmbl up/down No No 1
-------------------- -------------- -------------- --------------------
US Price $219 $199 $349 $269
- Rx 6ch 6ch 7ch 6ch
- Range Full ParkFlyer Full Either
- servos 0 4 micro 4 digital 0
- Tx batt 700mAh NiCd 600mAh NiCd 1500mAh NiMH 1500mAh NiMH
- Rx batt no no 1100mAh NiCd no
-------------------- -------------- -------------- --------------------

The Futaba 6EX and Spektrum DX6 are entry level sport systems.
The DX7 is mid-range not really the same ballpark.


If you want to go high-end you can pre-order the exquisite new JR x9303-2.4G with 9ch Rx for ~$629. This is effectively the DX9, that is, the well known JR9303 with Spektrum technology integrated (just like the DX7 was based on a JR7202).